The last time the Bears lost with...

Don PiersonCHICAGO TRIBUNE

The last time the Bears lost with Jim McMahon starting at quarterback was Oct. 14, 1984, against the St. Louis Cardinals. Counting playoffs, they have won 17 games in a row with McMahon starting and 26 of 30 since McMahon was named by coach Mike Ditka as his ''permanent'' No. 1 quarterback Nov. 6, 1983, against the Los Angeles Rams. It was the first game after owner George Halas died. The Bears lost. . . . Walter Payton needs 140 yards rushing to reach 15,000 yards. Ex-Brown Jimmy Brown remains in second place at 12,312. Payton needs two rushing touchdowns to become the third player in National Football League history to reach 100. Brown had 106 and John Riggins 104. Payton has 73 100-yard games. The Bears have a 50-23 record in those games, 31-7 in Soldier Field. Payton has played against Cleveland only once, in 1980, when he gained 30 yards in 11 attempts.

Gary Fencik has 35 career interceptions, two behind club record-holder Richie Petitbon. Fencik needs only two interceptions or fumble recoveries to break the club record of 47 held by Dick Butkus. . . . Mike Hartenstine will be playing in his 164th consecutive game, three shy of the club record held by former punter Bob Parsons. Hartenstine has never missed a game. . . . Kevin Butler has a streak of 22 consecutive field goals inside the 40-yard line. Benny Ricardo holds the NFL record of 29 straight.

Ditka doesn`t know if the new instant replay to aid officials is necessary. ''The calls will be verified 95 percent of the time,'' said Ditka. ''We`re talking a margin of error of 5 percent. Some sports athletes make a million dollars a year that have bigger margins of error than that. Why worry about making officials 100 percent perfect electronically? But I`m not against it. It might help us sometime.'' . . . The Bears have won 10 straight at Soldier Field and 19 of their last 21. They have won eight straight against AFC teams at Soldier Field. They have won 15 straight games on artificial turf. . . . The Bears have controlled the clock on offense in 42 of their last 43 games. The exception was against Washington last year when the Bears won 45-10.

-- Browns` free safety Chris Rockins, who replaced the late Don Rogers, was the choice of Browns` coach Marty Schottenheimer over Rogers in the 1984 draft. Schottenheimer, defensive coordinator at the time, was outvoted in the draft room and the Browns took Rogers in the first round, Rockins in the second. . . . Browns` punt returner Gerald McNeil weighs 143 pounds and is nicknamed ''the Ice Cube.'' He is from the United States Football League.

''The Chicago Bears might have the Refrigerator, but we have the Ice Cube

--the smallest, slickest, coolest player in the league,'' said Browns`

punter Jeff Gossett. . . . The Bears have sold out their last 16 games at Soldier Field.